1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a packaged detergent composition comprising a container that at least partly disintegrates in an aqueous environment, the container having at least one compartment, the detergent composition having at least one liquid and at least one solid substantially insoluble in the liquid and having a size retained by a 2.5 mm mesh. The invention is particularly useful in automatic dishwashing machines and laundry washing machines.
2. The Related Art
It is known to use packaged detergent compositions, disintegrating in an aqueous environment, for example, because of being made of water-soluble material. Such containers can simply be added to water in order to dissolve or disperse its contents thereinto.
It is also known to manufacture such containers having more than one compartment to enable presence in the same container of compositions having some kind of mutual incompatibility.
It has equally been proposed to enclose more than one composition in the same compartment of such package, which may then have one, or more than one compartment. Examples of this can be found in Swiss patent application number 347 930, European patent application number EP 0 233 027 A2 and European patent number EP 0 507 404 B1.
It has been found, however, that when solids, having a relatively big size (more than 2.5 mm), are packaged within a container of the above type comprising a liquid composition the solids may interact with the walls of the packages developing a number of potential problems.
A first undesirable type of interaction is a chemical interaction and may arise when the composition of the solid comprises substances with some degree of incompatibility with the material of the [water-soluble] container. Examples of these situations may arise when a solid comprising a cross-linking agent (i.e. borate) are contained in [water-soluble] a container made of polyol materials (i.e. polyvinyl alcohol) or when a solid comprising a strong oxidant (i.e. chlorine bleach) are contained within a container made of a oxidation sensitive material. This type of interaction may cause from one side a loss of integrity of the package but also a substantial change of the physical properties of the container (most notably its speed of dissolution).
A second type of interaction is a physical interaction and may arise from the friction of the solid(s) with the walls of the container when the container is moved (i.e. during handling or transportation). This friction can damage the material of the container (i.e. by enlarging the size of already existing pores) and cause leakage of the liquid contained in the container.